Yarraman Park

The old story is that it takes 40 years of hard work and dedication to become an overnight success. Yarraman Park at Scone is an excellent case in point. Harry Mitchell elaborated recently, “Arthur and I have been very fortunate, after many years of hard work we now have a top commercial sire in I Am Invincible standing at the farm. But we are not resting on our laurels, we looked hard to find a suitable son of his and we are confident we have the right one in Hellbent.

“Vinnie was a terrific racehorse, a close second to Takeover Target in a Gr.1s nothing to be sneezed at. But his son Hellbent actually won one of Australia’s strongest Gr.1s, the William Reid S-1200m at Moonee Valley. His record over 1000m to 1200m was sensational, he has the ideal credentials to produce the type of horse buyers are looking for at our sales.

“This Invincible Spirit sireline is really delivering the goods with I Am Invincible and Kingman being two of the hottest sires on the planet. Their sire Green Desert is one of Danzig’s most influential sons, and Hellbent is inbred to him, so we couldn’t ask for more.

“We are taking a really strong draft up to the Gold Coast in January, I can’t wait to present our 10 Hellbent youngsters to buyers, it’s the beginning of a new chapter for Yarraman. And of course, it goes without saying that we have a wonderful lineup of 14 by Vinnie, which are out of some of the best mares he’s ever covered. As his success grows, he keeps getting better mares to the point where he’s now covering mares such as Mossfun and Black Caviar. Sometimes Arthur and I have to remind ourselves that this is all really happening. But the result is that the I Am Invincible yearlings are out of better mares each year, it’s great for the farm. And of course as Vinnie’s fee kept climbing, a lot of breeders have sent very good mares to his son Hellbent, which should help him get off to a good start.”

Harry Mitchell has identified a trend that has been successful in thoroughbred breeding right throughout its long and illustrious history. The best son of a crack sire from his early crops is identified by breeders as a suitable candidate to send the type of mares that worked with his sire, often leading to similar success for the son. Yarraman will be looking for the trend to continue.

The balance of the farm’s 2021 draft is rounded out with yearlings by top commercial sires Exceed And Excel, So You Think, Capitalist, Spirit Of Boom and No Nay Never. The Mitchell brothers, Arthur and Harry will be on patrol as usual, keeping a friendly eye on their parades, catching up with clients and quietly confident that Hellbent can make an auspicious debut at the 2021 Magic Millions in January.